Tag Archives: sustainable materials

While doing research on sustainability with regards to landscape lighting, I found an interesting article on The National web site. The writer, Jane Aldersley, talks about the environmentally friendly benefits of LED lighting given the extremely low energy consumption of today’s LED technology. This was not surprising since it is well known that LED energy consumption can save upwards of 80% in energy costs when compared to traditional incandescent or halogen lighting. However, Ms. Aldersley provides a fresh view on the extended sustainability benefits of quality LED outdoor lighting, benefits that may be even more important to environmentalists and nature lovers alike. By using quality LED outdoor lighting fixtures, gardens and landscapes can be enhanced and plantings will be able to grow, mature, and develop over time since these fixtures will not need to be replaced every few years. Using low quality fixtures that require replacement or frequent maintenance creates ongoing problems associated with digging up the gardens, reburying cable, and disrupting the natural environment of the landscaping.

It occurred to me that Ms. Aldersley may not have been aware that to achieve the ultimate sustainable garden, the use of quality LED outdoor lights made from SOLID COPPERwould provide benefits long after the 10-year window she mentions in her article. Our P.M. Lighting line of solid copper fixtures are designed to last a lifetime, not just 10 years, and the LED components can be easily replaced when they finally do burn out. Simply stated, our fixtures will outlast any LED component and it makes sense to be able to upgrade and replace just the LEDs in the future instead of having to replace the entire fixture. LED technology will continue to improve over the next several years so why get locked in to old technology or be forced to replace your fixtures when the LEDs wear out?

The bottom line is that LED technology and solid copper fixtures are the perfect combination to achieve the ultimate, truly sustainable, eco-friendly outdoor lighting system available. A few excerpts from the article and link to the site are below for your convenience.

PHOTO COURTESY GLOBAL LIGHT & POWER

“With the right low-energy LED fixtures, lighting can become a fantastically sustainable element in garden design – not only by minimising [sic] the amount of power used for illumination but also by enhancing textures, shapes and silhouettes, creating a captivating nightscape without the need for a lot of thirsty plants.”

“Aside from the gorgeous effects and low power consumption, let’s also remember another huge benefit of LED lighting – good-quality fixtures last for about 10 years without maintenance or lamp changing. Therefore, all these wonderful sustainable lighting features can remain interference-free, while the plants or materials naturally grow, age and change texture and colour. This is the beauty of using natural materials, and one of the driving forces behind the concept of sustainable design. Combine this with intelligent plant selection and the tiny power consumption of LED, and you have the potential for the ultimate sustainable desert landscape.”

Jane Aldersley is a landscape lighting specialist working exclusively with LED lighting. She has been working within the UAE landscape industry since 2007.